Former Ferris State hockey star signs with AHL's Oklahoma City Barons

BIG RAPIDS – Former Ferris State hockey player Derek Nesbitt has found a new home in the American Hockey League.

The 31-year-old forward recently signed a new contract with the Oklahoma City Barons, the team the Grand Rapids Griffins ousted this season in the Western Conference Finals en route to the Calder Cup championship.

Nesbitt, a 6-0, 185-pounder from Egmondville, Ontario, played a majority of last season with the Peoria Rivermen before finishing with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he recorded six assists in 14 Calder Cup playoff games.

He led the Rivermen with a career-best 26 goals and was second on the team with 47 points. In three seasons with Peoria, he recorded 144 points.

A veteran of 320 games in the AHL, Nesbitt has played for five different teams and scored 203 points (92 goals, 111 assists). He earned a one-year, two-way contract with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes in 2008.

Nesbitt played four seasons at Ferris State from 2001-2005 and helped the Bulldogs win their first Central Collegiate Hockey Association title and make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2002-03.

He compiled 142 career points at Ferris State and ranks among the top 15 all-time leaders in points, goals and assists.

Nesbitt joins forwards C.J. Stretch and Erick Lizon, and defenseman Joey Leach as players signed by the Barons for the 2013-14 season.